Lung cancer risk from exposure to alpha particles and inhalation of other pollutants in rats

The goal of these experiments is to establish a quantitative correlation between early DNA damage and cancer incidence in a way that would be helpful for assessing the carcinogenic risk of radon alone or in combination with specific indoor pollutants. Rat tracheal epithelium has been exposed in vivo to {sup 210}Po alpha particles in the presence and absence of NO{sub 2} or cigarette smoke. The major accomplishments so far are: the design and implementation of a tracheal implant to simulate radon alpha particle exposure, the measurement of DNA breaks in a small 7.0 mm segment of the trachea exposed to external x-irradiation, the measurement of the rate of repair of the x-ray induced tracheal DNA strand breaks, the measurement of DNA strand breaks following inhalation of cigarette smoke or NO{sub 2}, the measurement of tracheal DNA stand breaks following exposure to high doses {sup 210}Po alpha particle radiation, the assessment of the amount of mucous in the goblet cells and in the underlying mucous glands. So far we have been unable to detect DNA strand breaks in the tracheal epithelium as a result of exposure to NO{sub 2} cigarette smoke or {sup 210}Po alpha particles. We have developed a simple artificial' trachea consisting of rat tracheal epithelial cells growing on a basement membrane coated millipore filter. Experiments are proposed to utilize these artificial tracheas to eliminate the potential interference of increased mucous secretion and/or inflammation that can significantly affect the radiation dose from the alpha particles. 61 refs., 17 figs

Tumorigenic action of beta, proton, alpha and electron radiation on the rat skin

Rat skin is utilized as a model system for studying dose and time related aspects of the oncogenic action of ionizing radiation, ultraviolet light and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Molecular lesions in the DNA of the epidermis, including strand breaks and thymine dimers, are measured and compared to the temporal and dose related aspects of tumor induction. The induction and repair kinetics of molecular lesions are compared to split dose recovery as modified by sensitizers and type of radition of oncogenic damage

Threshold effects of habitat fragmentation on fish diversity at landscapes scales

Habitat fragmentation involves habitat loss concomitant with changes in spatial configuration, confounding mechanistic drivers of biodiversity change associated with habitat disturbance. Studies attempting to isolate the effects of altered habitat configuration on associated communities have reported variable results. This variability may be explained in part by the fragmentation threshold hypothesis, which predicts that the effects of habitat configuration may only manifest at low levels of remnant habitat area. To separate the effects of habitat area and configuration on biodiversity, we surveyed fish communities in seagrass landscapes spanning a range of total seagrass area (2-74% cover within 16 000-m2 landscapes) and spatial configurations (1-75 discrete patches). We also measured variation in fine-scale seagrass variables, which are known to affect faunal community composition and may covary with landscape-scale features. We found that species richness decreased and the community structure shifted with increasing patch number within the landscape, but only when seagrass area was low (<25% cover). This pattern was driven by an absence of epibenthic species in low-seagrass-area, highly patchy landscapes. Additional tests corroborated that low movement rates among patches may underlie loss of vulnerable taxa. Fine-scale seagrass biomass was generally unimportant in predicting fish community composition. As such, we present empirical support for the fragmentation threshold hypothesis and we suggest that poor matrix quality and low dispersal ability for sensitive taxa in our system may explain why our results support the hypothesis, while previous empirical work has largely failed to match predictions

Magnetic Field Amplification in Galaxy Clusters and its Simulation

We review the present theoretical and numerical understanding of magnetic field amplification in cosmic large-scale structure, on length scales of galaxy clusters and beyond. Structure formation drives compression and turbulence, which amplify tiny magnetic seed fields to the microGauss values that are observed in the intracluster medium. This process is intimately connected to the properties of turbulence and the microphysics of the intra-cluster medium. Additional roles are played by merger induced shocks that sweep through the intra-cluster medium and motions induced by sloshing cool cores. The accurate simulation of magnetic field amplification in clusters still poses a serious challenge for simulations of cosmological structure formation. We review the current literature on cosmological simulations that include magnetic fields and outline theoretical as well as numerical challenges.Comment: 60 pages, 19 Figure

Optical forces on cylinders near subwavelength slits illuminated by a photonic nanojet

We discuss optical forces exerted on particles, either dielectric or metallic, near a subwavelength slit illuminated by a photonic nanojet. We compare those cases in which the Mie resonances are or are not excited. The configurations on study are 2D, hence those particles are infinite cylinders and, in order to obtain extraordinary transmission, the illuminating beam is p-polarized. We show the different effects of these particle resonances on the optical forces: while whispering gallery modes under those illumination conditions weaken the force strength, this latter is enhanced by localized plasmon excitation. Also, illuminating the slit with a nanojet enhances the optical forces on the particle at the exit of the aperture by a factor between 3 and 10 compared with illumination of the slit with a Gausian beam. In addition, the pulling force that such a small resonant metallic particle suffers on direct illumination by a nanojet, can change by the presence of the slit, so that it may become repulsive at certain lateral positions of the particle

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair

Whole exome sequencing coupled with unbiased functional analysis reveals new Hirschsprung disease genes

Background: Hirschsprung disease (HSCR), which is congenital obstruction of the bowel, results from a failure of enteric nervous system (ENS) progenitors to migrate, proliferate, differentiate, or survive within the distal intestine. Previous studies that have searched for genes underlying HSCR have focused on ENS-related pathways and genes not fitting the current knowledge have thus often been ignored. We identify and validate novel HSCR genes using whole exome sequencing (WES), burden tests, in silico prediction, unbiased in vivo analyses of the mutated genes in zebrafish, and expression analyses in zebrafish, mouse, and human. Results: We performed de novo mutation (DNM) screening on 24 HSCR trios. We identify 28 DNMs in 21 different genes. Eight of the DNMs we identified occur in RET, the main HSCR gene, and the remaining 20 DNMs reside in genes not reported in the ENS. Knockdown of all 12 genes with missense or loss-of-function DNMs showed that the orthologs of four genes (DENND3, NCLN, NUP98, and TBATA) are indispensable for ENS development in zebrafish, and these results were confirmed by CRISPR knockout. These genes are also expressed in human and mouse gut and/or ENS progenitors. Importantly, the encoded proteins are linked to neuronal processes shared by the central nervous system and the ENS. Conclusions: Our data open new fields of investigation into HSCR pathology and provide novel insights into the development of the ENS. Moreover, the study demonstrates that functional analyses of genes carrying DNMs are warranted to delineate the full genetic architecture of rare complex diseases

Erratum: The Carnegie Supernova Project. I. Third Photometry Data Release of Low-redshift Type Ia Supernovae and Other White Dwarf Explosions (2017, AJ, 154, 211)

GalaxiesStars and planetary system

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362